Richie Petitbon came into the program this season and should be a plug-and-play offensive tackle. He is going to get his chance to shine with the Illini. He will be departing after this season, though. That leaves a hole at the offensive tackle position.
In addition to Petitbon being done after this season, Illinois also has a handful of offensive linemen who are entering their junior year with the team. Alex Palczewski, Doug Kramer, Jake Cerny, Kurt Gavin and Vederian Lowe will all, most likely, be departing after the 2020 campaign and they will all see starts or be a starter with this program this season.